Come On
by Mercedes88
Summary: "Come on." Two words. So simple in their construct. So powerful in their delivery. Through the years, my stubborn will has lost many a battle to those two words... Katniss' POV on various times Peeta has masterfully used two words to his advantage. And how Katniss doesn't really mind that he does.
1. Chapter 1

Hey all -

This idea came to me after rewatching THG and CF. In the films, Peeta seems to say "Come on" to Katniss a lot and it struck me how often she caves to whatever he's asking once he does say those words. So here's a short story depicting different times Peeta said that to Katniss - some are from the film and some are made up.

Hope you enjoy! Would love to hear your feedback. And if you enjoy this, please check out my other THG stories, More Than Allies and My Mother's Daughter.

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**Come On**

"Come on."

Two words. So simple in their construct. So powerful in their delivery.

Through the years, my stubborn will has lost many a battle to those two words.

And the victor of these skirmishes?

Why, that would be none other than Peeta Mellark. With those soulful eyes of his and that coaxing smile, he wields his two-worded weapon with gentle and unerringly accurate skill.

Time and time again.

I think back to the first time he used them on me.

We were on the train, entering the Capitol as Tributes in the 74th Hunger Games.

_At the first glimpse of those glittering towers and sparkling lakes, Peeta jumped up from the breakfast table, eager and excited to see the glitz and glamour of the Capitol. He was greeted by all of that and more. To Peeta's captivated gaze, every oddity that had ever been imagined was on full display. _

_I was rooted to my spot. _

_He turned to me then, his hazel eyes sparkling with delight and his smile genuine, as he beckoned me to join him._

_"Come on. Come on."_

I didn't heed him then, too afraid of what I'd see. Too defiant to make an effort.

But the next time he used that phrase in earnest, I complied with surprisingly little resistance.

It was in the cave and he was at death's door.

_His leg nearly cut to the bone, an infection-induced fever left him pale, weak and shaking. I'd just returned with the medicine he needed to stay alive. Even before I could tend to him, his thoughts, his focus, were on the harmless cut above my eye. _

_Through sheer force of will, I ignored the unexpected way his urgent appeal tugged at my heart and focused instead on applying the salve to his leg. It barely had time to sink in to the gaping wound before he was pleading with me again. _

"_That feels better." He sighed, his relief short-lived as he turned his attentions to my innocuous injury. "Ok, now you. Come on."_

"_I'm ok." I protested. _

"_No, you need it too." He urged, his finger already dipping into the salve as he waited expectantly for my acquiescence. "Come on."_

_I turned to him. Our eyes locked and held. And I felt it. I felt that something stirring in the pit of my stomach, in the center of my chest. That something that is so familiar to me now, that without it, I would shrivel up and die. _

As I now gaze down at the slumbering product of Peeta's latest two-worded plea, I'm taken back to the week we spent in District 4 several years ago...

_"You ready?"_

_I gazed unyielding at his eager expression. "If you think for one moment that I'm going to survive the Hunger Games, a Quarter Quell and a revolution just so I can die by voluntarily jumping off of a 30 foot cliff, then you, Peeta Mellark, have lost your mind."_

_His lips curled into a smile and those warm hazel eyes of his sparked with unrestrained laughter. "Well, that's a given. I fell in love with you, didn't I?"_

_"Ha. Ha." I responded with a roll of my eyes. _

_It was at that moment I saw just how close he's standing to the edge and that thing kicked in. That unique instinct that took me over in the Hunger Games, that motivated my every action through the Quarter Quell. That sense - the certain knowledge - that nothing in the world be right if Peeta Mellark was no longer in it. _

_"Seriously, Peeta, come back this way a bit."_

_He laughed at my cautionary command and began taunting me with shifting feet and flailing arms as he danced to a jig only he could hear. "Why? You afraid I'm going to fall off?" _

_"Yes, actually." I grabbed an extended hand and yanked him back toward the safety of the solid rock beneath our feet. I couldn't stop the exasperated sigh that escaped me. "This has to be, without a doubt, one of the most foolish things you've ever decided to do. What are you trying to prove anyway?"_

_Hands firmly on his hips, the laughter drained from his face as those strong shoulders that had become my shelter, my home, shrugged helplessly. "I don't know. I guess I want to do it for Finn."_

_I followed his suddenly somber gaze to the miniature of Finnick O'Dair. The four year old was on the blanket we'd spread for our impromptu outing, with Annie smiling next to him, an arm wrapped around his tiny waist, holding him back from breaking into a reckless run toward the cliff. Bouncing excitedly on his restrained tiptoes he waved at me and his 'Unca Peeta' with childish delight as the wind rushed across the ocean waves to playfully dance through his sandy-blonde curls. _

_Just like Peeta, his excitement was infectious. _

_I smiled and waved in return then turned back to face Peeta, my questions unspoken. _

_"I want him to know that there's nothing so big and scary in this world that can't be conquered with hope...and love. And that sometimes you have to take a fearless leap of faith into the unknown to embrace all life has to offer." Peeta said softly. _

_"I think Finnick would have wanted him to know that. And who better to show him than me…" Peeta's lips tilted in a heart-tugging smile as he reached out and gently traced the lines of my face with warm, familiar fingers. "…and you. The ultimate survivors. After that story Annie told us about how much Finnick loved this place, how jumping from this very cliff as a boy made him feel free, it just feels right to do this."_

_"Peeta..." As usual, my heart melted at the pure goodness that seemed to envelop every fiber of my husband's being. _

_"You know, Katniss. We've survived much worse than this." The twinkle in his eyes returned with a vengeance as he inched his way backwards, his hand outstretched once more. "Jump with me. Just this once." He paused as a slow smile spread in that way I've never found the secret of resisting. "Come on, Katniss. You know you want to."_

_One wink and I was his. And he knew it. But for good measure he added a taunting whisper. "Come on..."_

My hand slipped into his that day. Just as it had a year before when he managed to surprise me with a pearl ring and a question I hadn't been expecting.

Tbc…


	2. Chapter 2

Hey all -

Here's the next chapter. I'll have the final chapter out soon.

Hope you enjoy and I'd love to hear what you think!

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**Chapter 2**

My hand slipped into his that day. Just as it had a year before when he managed to surprise me with a pearl ring and a question I hadn't been expecting.

_"So, what do you say?" Peeta looked at me in dubious anticipation. "Will you marry me?"_

_"Marry you." I swallowed hard, my stifled breath suddenly very shaky. "But...but marriage is..."_

_"Nothing more than a promise to keep doing what we've been doing." Peeta filled in for me with a description of his own. Clearly, he was prepared for my reaction. "Only to keep doing it for the rest of our lives." _

_When I didn't immediately respond, he continued, undeterred. _

_"It's the practical thing to do, you know. This way I can count on always having meat in my stew and you're dinner will always end with a home-made dessert. Unless, of course, you've found someone else willing to give you a lifetime supply of cheesy buns."_

_I rolled my eyes at him, fighting back the panic rushing through me, and at the same time, the urge to smile. "You know I haven't."_

_"Good to know." Peeta stated with a wink before continuing his case without missing a beat. "And you know, I've been thinking about this whole living together thing…we haven't spent a night apart in over a year. And I figure, most of my stuff is at your place anyway so might as well just move the rest in and make it official. That way our mail can legally be delivered to one place instead of two."_

"_So you're saying we should get married because you're too lazy to walk across the street and get your mail now?"_

"_Actually, I was thinking of Mr. Peters." Peeta countered easily. "He's getting up there in years and if we can save him a few extra steps when he delivers the mail, then I say it's our very sensible, very civic duty to marry." Peeta declared with a grin. _

_I felt a disbelieving eyebrow hitch. "Our civic duty. To our mailman."_

"_Uh-huh." Peeta nodded vigorously. "Besides, I can't think of anyone else that would put up with either of us, can you?"_

"_I don't know." I drawled, pulling at a dandelion along the edge of the blanket Peeta had spread for our evening outing as I gazed out at the setting sun. It was that color of orange that Peeta loved so much. As its warm rays danced along the planes of Peeta's face, I was reminded once again just how much I love it too. "Polly Maycomb sure does spend a lot of time hanging out at the bakery counter whenever you're around."_

_Peeta chuckled and dipped his head in that adorable way he does when I say something that pleases him. In this instance, the very fact that I took note of one of his many admirers pleased him a lot. _

"_That's because Polly Maycomb is a wise and discerning twelve year old that loves my tasty cinnamon buns." _

"_Yeah, well, good thing she's only twelve." I commented with more bark than I had bite. "Any older and I'd be forced to kick her butt for the dreamy way she looks at your…tasty buns."_

_My flippant innuendo was rewarded with a full-fledged Peeta smile. Eyes dancing, he reached over and tucked a few errant strands of hair behind my ear. "See? If you can be jealous of a child, that can only mean one thing."_

"_Yeah, and what's that?" I asked warily. I'd seen that look in his eyes before. And it was usually when he was about to pronounce something wildly, irrevocably true._

_Which he then proceeded to do._

"_You love me, Katniss Everdeen. Just as much as I love you. And to me…" For the first time since he began this quest of his, Peeta grew serious. And it was in that moment I knew with utter certainty that he would win this battle as well. For he was a master at knowing how to break my will with the most powerful of weapons – the simplest of things. _

_A look. A smile. Softly spoken words. He wielded all three with unerring accuracy. "…that's the only reason to get married that really matters."_

_The weight I gave my reasoning matched his own. When I responded it was with words ringing with the most profound truth I'd ever known. "I do, Peeta. I do love you. So much that I can't…"  
_

_I broke off, unable to keep my voice from wavering. Unsure I could put all of my fears into words, my gaze faltered and I found it hard to swallow around the massive lump in my throat. _

_Shifting, Peeta wrapped his entire being around me. His chest became my backrest, his legs aligned on either side of mine as his arms wrapped around my waist and captured my shaking hands in his strong, steady ones, our fingers threading together effortlessly. His cheek rested against mine as we gazed out at the same scene, the same future._

_And for a moment, he let us be. He let us feel and know and believe that we weren't watching the end of the world with the setting of the sun. That we still remained despite the horrors we'd faced, the grief we'd shared. Beyond the inevitable passage of time. _

"_I know you're scared." Peeta whispered eventually. _

"_Scared? No, Peeta, I'm…petrified." I sank further into his warmth, his strength, and continued in jerky fits and starts. "I've already lost…so many people. And it broke me. In many ways, I always will be. You…you are the only thing that holds me together. Every day."_

_I pulled his arms tighter around me, a visible act echoing the truth thundering in my heart. "You're so much more than the man I love. You're the one…I so desperately need. If we got married…and I lost you…" Words spoken years before by the boy that once saved my life, by the very man saving it still today, came roaring back like the crashing of an ocean wave. "…Peeta, I'd have nothing. Nobody else that I care about." I added my own truth to his. "It would end me for sure."_

"_Katniss." The gentle way my name grazed his lips and whispered into my being sent my heart soaring. Then plummeting. For I knew, without an ounce of doubt, that my surrender would soon be complete. _

_And when he shifted once more to look into my eyes, a gentle hand caressing the side of my face like it was a delicate, precious treasure, I felt tears prick the back of my eyes. And then when he used that rare, precious endearment that only he could get away with, the one reserved for times such as these, one tear fell unbidden. "Baby, you aren't going to lose me. After all we've been through…even after the Capitol stole us away from me…I'm still here. Still your Peeta. Always and forever yours."_

_Then Peeta wisely shifted gears to answer the obvious question keeping me from ultimate surrender by asking a question of his own. "But let's say something did happen. How would not being married make it any easier?"_

_I paused, trying to come up with a logical reason that would answer that insightful question. Searching for a reason to give him a firm, resounding no to his life-altering proposal. I found nothing. Because Peeta was right. Marrying him wouldn't change a thing. I would still love him as I do now. I would still need him, care for him, live for him. And if I did lose him, I would lose myself. Married or not._

"_It wouldn't." I softly conceded._

"_Then say yes, Katniss." Peeta gently prompted. "I know it goes against what you always wanted, but…" And it's here that he could have drawn on his greatest weapon – his ability to persuade. Instead, he showed me exactly why Peeta Mellark was the only man I could ever love by making the most monumental decision in my life feel like it was as easy as choosing my favorite dessert. "...you have to admit, Katniss Mellark does have a certain ring to it. A really, really nice ring."_

_His grin, slow in appearing, widened as he saw my resistance wavering._

"_Maybe."_

_He chuckled at my petulant agreement. "You know, we don't have to make a big fuss about it. We don't even have to tell anyone. Just you, me and a toasting is enough for me." _

_With each new argument came a new layer of confidence. He was winning this battle. And he knew it. Just one last push and two final words of challenge. "Come on, Katniss. Give me one good, irrefutable reason why we shouldn't do this. Just one and I'll drop the issue forever." _

_My scrutinizing gaze met his. "Why do you want this so much? If you really believe it won't change anything, that it's like we're already married anyway, then why is it so important to you that we go through the ritual and make things…official?"_

"_I guess…" He pulled in a shaky breath and released a regretful sigh as layers of pain flashed through his eyes. "I guess it's because of my dad."_

_Knowing how difficult it was for Peeta to talk about his family, especially his kind, quiet father, I instantly regretted my question. "Peeta, you don't have to…" _

"_It's ok." A bittersweet smile touched Peeta's lips as his gaze shifted to our entwined fingers. His willingness to delve into his painful past to gain my hand, was not lost on me. "It's no secret he and mom didn't get along. But he was there, Katniss. Every day, every moment, he was there. Trying to fix what she'd broken, making life bearable, even…relatively happy." _

_He swallowed hard, as the memories were pulled from the distant past into the present. "I asked him once why he didn't just leave her. And he said he couldn't do that to me and my brothers because he loved us too much. And then he told me that despite the cards he'd been dealt, he still believed that happiness could be found in love, marriage. And that one day, his disappointments in life would somehow be made right when I could do what he couldn't."_

"_And what was that?"_

_My whispered question brought his softened gaze upward until it met mine, so full of love it nearly took my breath away. "Marry the girl I loved more than my own life. The one girl in this entire world that I wanted to grow old with." His hand gravitated to my face, a gentle caress that brought tears to my eyes. "For as long as I can remember, Katniss, that girl has been you." _

_His lips claimed mine then. The kiss held a tantalizing promise of what our life could be. A firm reminder of what it already was. When the kiss reluctantly ended, it was for Peeta to offer one last parting plea as his forehead came to rest against mine. "Come on, Katniss…give me a reason…or give me a yes…"_

I couldn't give him a reason that day. Or the next, or the day after that.

And now, after twenty years of a life I never dreamed possible – a life I truly don't deserve – I hear those words once more.

This time, it isn't Peeta's voice calling to me.

"Com'on, mommy! Come p'ay wiff us."

Robin Cinna came running toward me from across a field of daisies, his golden curls flying in the wind, his hazel eyes bright with exertion. He stopped just short of throwing himself into my arms, choosing instead to dance on the balls of his feet in unrestrained delight at the edge of the blanket beneath me. At three years, he is the spitting image of his father, and just like Peeta, he has a certain knack for getting me to do things I normally wouldn't.

Close on his heels came Raven Primrose, his older sister by two years. With her dark curls and Seam gray eyes, Rae is all me at that age. Except she has her father's big heart and talent for capturing color on canvass. "Please, mommy! We need three to play and daddy's getting tired."

"Yeah, mommy." Peeta's breathless voice sounded in my ear as he dropped a quick kiss against my temple. "Your two little munchkins over there have run daddy ragged." Peeta flopped down on the blanket next to me in an exaggerated fit of exhaustion. With a deeply contented sigh he grinned up at me, his brow wiggling suggestively. "Now it's _your _turn."

I couldn't resist running my fingers through his tousled hair as I grinned at his antics. "Is that so? I take it you're up to taking care of Lily and Kasha then?"

Peeta propped himself up on his elbow, his gaze shifting to our snoring, three-month old twins – Lilian Rue and Kasha Finn – sprawled out on the picnic blanket beside me as he pronounced the obvious with confidence. "Katniss. They're both asleep. I think I can handle it."

I chuckled at his confidence knowing that the two youngest Mellarks were about to be wide awake. And hungry. With foul diapers. And even fouler dispositions.

"Oh, you think so." I crowed confidently. For while Peeta is the inspiration for Rae and Robbie's personalities, our twins came screaming into this world full of my temperament and fire.

"I know so."

"You wanna bet on that?" I drawled as I ran a gentle hand across their already rumbling tummies. "And before you answer, just know that they're going to be hungry when they wake up, and they can get mighty cranky when their bellies are growling."

"I handle you ever day, don't I?" Peeta quipped. "I've got cranky down to a science."

I gave him a good-natured punch before I renew my challenge. "So I take it we're on then?"

Peeta grinned up at me, obviously loving our little game. "Don't know yet. What's my prize when I win?"

"IF you win…hmmm, let's see. I'll…" I tilted my head and pursed my lips in contemplation. Before I had a chance to offer a viable reward, Peeta piped up with one of his own.

"Oh, I know! When I win…and I will…_you_ have to come to bed tonight completely…" Fully aware of our listening tots, Peeta lowered his voice and spelled out his terms. Literally. "…n-a-k-e-d."

Since the twins' arrival, Peeta and I had had precious little energy for 'n-a-k-e-d time'. And when we did, we were constantly being interrupted with splinters in fingers and stubbed toes, mini-spats between siblings and infants waking at all hours of the night. Not to mention special orders that needed to be filled at the bakery. As a result, we'd both been looking for an excuse – any at all – to steal a few, intimate moments to ourselves.

And right now, a bet seemed as good an excuse as any.

I bit my lip to keep the grin off my face at the prospects of a night full of n-a-k-e-d and challenged him back. "And if _I_ win?"

"You won't, but…" Peeta countered with a wink and a grin. "…I'll do the same."

"Oh, well. If _that's_ my reward then…you are _so_ on." I agreed, leaning forward and capturing his lips with mine. And though I get as much pleasure from kissing my husband as I give, this time, there was an added incentive.

A diversion.

When I pulled back, it was with a taunting grin and a challenge. "Let's see you win without the supplies…"

Jumping up with lightning quick speed, I grabbed the diaper bag, slung it over my shoulder then took off running with Robin and Rae's hands firmly encased in mine. As we headed in the direction of a nearby field, a pair of waking wails echoed through the valley along with Peeta's protest ringing in my ears.

"You get back here with that bag, Katniss Mellark!" A pause. "Katniss? Aww, come on…"

Tbc…


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